iSave Freddie
by Smileys
Summary: Pretend the lock-in was in the fall. What if the Shadow Hammer abducted Freddie the next morning and Sam didn't check into the mental hospital?
1. Sunday

Yesterday I acted on impulse and kissed a nerd at our schools lock-in. I hated him for so long but for the last couple of years my feelings have been changing towards Freddie, the nub. I didn't let it show, of course, not even to Carly, my best friend. Both Carly and Freddie thought I was in love with Brad. Freddie's Pear Pad app said I was in love but it didn't say with who. Yes, I'm in love with a dork. Both Carly and Freddie were telling me to 'Go for it!' and that I should 'Make a move!' to let Brad know I was interested in him. Well, it wasn't Brad, it was Freddie and, without thinking, I kissed him! He just stood as still as a statue in shock, didn't even kiss back. Does he like me that way at all? I've given him plenty of reasons to hate me but he's still stuck around with me and Carly. But since he didn't kiss me back or say anything, I ran off. Actually I climbed my way out of that situation. The school was locked for the night so I had to climb over the courtyard fence to get away. I spent a long night lying awake wondering what I had done, how had I changed our lives? This afternoon, I'm dragging my feet on going over to Carly's apartment. What is he going to say about last night? No more putting it off, I'm sure both Carly and Freddie have gotten home from the lock-in and had gotten some sleep and are up now. Time to face the music and see what I've done to our lives.

I got off the bus near Bushwell Plaza and headed over there. There was a couple of cop cars out front of the building. Someone get whacked in there or what? As soon as I got off the elevator on the 8th floor I could tell the excitement was on that floor. There were cops and other people everywhere. Oh no, did Spencer's latest invention kill someone? I didn't smell smoke so he didn't set the place on fire again. The doors to both the Shay apartment and the Benson apartment were open. I found Carly in her own apartment, in tears. "What's happened!" I exclaimed, totally confused but way worried.

"It's the Shadow Hammer! He's got Freddie!" Carly cried.

"Whoa, slow down, what do you mean he's 'got' Freddie? Is Freddie ok?" I asked.

"Freddie's mom got home from work about an hour ago and their apartment has been smashed up with a hammer. And Freddie is missing and there is some of his blood on the floor in his room and smudges leading out to the elevator. He even left a hammer hanging, smashed into Freddie's bedroom door! Sam, I'm so scared for Freddie!" she explained.

I felt my heart sink. The Shadow Hammer was no one to fool around with! Thanks to Freddie they caught him after numerous robberies but since he never used a gun in any of his robberies he got bail and then skipped out. Would he kill Freddie? Torture him? Obviously he'd already hurt Freddie if there was blood. He wouldn't have dragged a dead body out in broad daylight and the blood trail went to the elevator so Freddie had to be alive when they left the building. "What did Lewbert say? Did he see anything?" I asked Carly.

"He was in his office when they left and all he did was scream about the smudges of blood on his floor." Carly said with distain.

I made a mental note to plan some hideous episodes of 'Messin' with Lewbert', even if they were too cruel to show on iCarly. "What are the cops doing about finding him?" I wanted to know everything! This was MY Freddie that was missing. Ok, so he's not really mine but that's how I felt.

"They are going over the apartment for fingerprints and other clues to prove it was the Shadow Hammer but they aren't doing anything to find him yet other than they went over to the Hammers known apartment and found nothing. They are waiting for a ransom call. He's not a kidnapper! There isn't going to be a ransom call." she wailed.

"Then I will find him!" I vowed and was out of the door like a shot. I went to straight to my Uncle Carmine, he's got connections in low places and a soft spot for me. I explained to him about how Freddie helped catch this scum who was now out, skipped on bail, and had Freddie, my friend and maybe more than just a friend. Could he help find him for me?

"You mean that tech geek from your web show? You like him?" Uncle Carmine asked.

"Yes, that guy! And, yeah, I like him." I said with a blush.

"Does he like you back? Is he worthy of you?" he asked.

"Uncle Carmine! Does it really matter right now? We've got to find him and get him away from the Shadow Hammer!" I exclaimed.

"I just want to know if he's worth the trouble to find. I mean, if he's not treating my favorite niece the way she deserves maybe he's not worth finding." he said.

"Fine! I only let him know last night that I thought of him in more than just a friendly way and he hasn't even had a chance to tell me how he feels. But he's always been very nice to me, even when I'm not so nice to him." I admitted.

"All right, Sammi Girl, for you, I will see what I can find out. Keep your cell nearby."

"Thanks, Uncle Carmine" I said and gave him a big hug.

After leaving my Uncles place I went back to the Bushwell Plaza to sit and wait with Carly. "Where did you go?" she asked when I got there.

"I put out some feelers on finding Freddie." I said. And that was all I was going to say. I didn't want Carly involved lest things get hairy. Things around my uncle often get hairy and I can handle it, Carly is too nice of a girl to be associated with someone like my uncle. And if he had to do some bad things to find my Freddie I wanted his involvement to be anonymous so he wouldn't get in trouble for doing me a favor.

"What kind of feelers do you mean?" Carly wanted to know.

"It's best if you don't know, Carls." I told her.

"Ok, if you say so, but don't do anything dangerous or stupid, please. I've already got one friend in danger!" she said. "It's going to be dinner time soon and everyone helping will need to be fed. That will give us something productive to do instead of sitting here going crazy." Carly suggested.

I hate cooking but I couldn't just sit still and if I was in the kitchen helping I could snack on what we were making so I agreed. While dinner was in the oven Carly ran to the store to get some cup cakes and cookies for dessert and while she was gone my cell phone beeped with a text. It was from my uncle. "Know where he is, come. Dress warm, wear boots." Wear boots? Where are we going? Who cares! He knows where we can find Freddie! I was out the door like a shot. I got home and dressed warm and in boots and went to my uncle's place. "Where are we going?" I asked when I saw him.

"Up into the mountains a bit." was all he would say. "This is Snake." he said as the three of us climbed in my uncle's truck. Snake was a big guy with lots of tattoos. Same sort of guy my uncle usually hung around with and he seemed ok. At that point anyone willing to help find Freddie was ok in my book. We drove into the foothills of the mountains to a large public dock next to a swimming beach that was now closed for the year. My uncle got out of the truck and we followed him out onto the dock. He used some binoculars to look into the mountains rising from the other side of the lake. "Yup, I see it." he said.

"See what?" I asked.

He handed me the binoculars and told me to look at the other side of the lake. "You see the two bright red maple trees over there? Find the point right between them and then look up a couple hundred feet and see if you can't see a cabin up there."

It was easy enough to find the nice red maple trees but I didn't see anything man made anywhere above them. I keep looking and then I spotted it, in some dense pines. "I see a bit of a roof with a chimney!" I exclaimed.

"Yup, that's it. My sources say that's the Shadow Hammer's hide out for when the heat is on him. We can drive about a quarter of the way around the lake. Then we have to hike the rest of the way to the other side and hike up some pretty steep terrain to get to the cabin. Not even a foot path up to it." he said.

We drove as far as we could and left the truck and started out on foot. The hike around the lake was easy enough but the hike up the mountain to the cabin was strenuous. "Wait here." my uncle said to me before leaving the trees near the cabin. He and Snake checked things out with their guns drawn. They crept up to the door of the small cabin and peeked in the grimy windows. Then Snake went inside while my Uncle Carmine waited outside keeping an eye on things. Snake came out and said something to my uncle and he waved me over, "Kid is inside, no sign of the Hammer, we'll look around out here."

I ran in the little cabin and my heart stopped at the sight of the bloody, dirty body of Freddie on the floor of the cabin in nothing but his boxers. Was he dead? No, wait, his chest was moving. He's alive, just unconscious at the moment. I ran to him and knelt down to turn him over so I could see his face. Other than some smudges of dirt and blood the only thing wrong with his face was a black eye. But the rest of his body was covered in round welts and bruises, many of the blows had broken the skin so he had blood all over. The Hammer had beaten him with a hammer! I called his name and shook his shoulders and he opened his one good eye just a bit and looked at me. Then he suddenly looked shocked and whispered, "Get out of here, Sam! He'll come back." Then he lolled his head back and, I think, was unconscious again.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm here to help you." I promised him, even if he wasn't awake. "And I'm glad he'll come back so we can take care of him!" And just then I heard some yelling outside the cabin and heard a couple of shots fired. I sure hope that was my uncle's or Snake's gun and not the Hammer's gun.

Just a few minutes later my uncle came to the cabin. "He was in the outhouse about 20 or 30 yards off yonder" he said gesturing to the far side of the cabin. "He tried to tackle Snake but when I fired a couple of shots he tried to jump away from Snake and accidently fell over the edge of a small cliff and landed on some rocks below. I don't think he'll be bothering anyone ever again. Whoa, that boy's fairly beat up. Let me check him over."

My uncle has been in plenty of scrapes and is a master at survival. He checked over Freddie and figured he'd survive. "Probably a couple broken ribs is the worst of it, mostly just some cuts and bruises but he's gonna be mighty sore for a while." Then he looked around the little cabin. The front side, facing the lake, had the door on one side and the rest of that wall was a kitchen area. In the middle of the little cabin was an old fashioned oven for heating and cooking with wood. Off on one side wall was a propane heater. The back wall had a small table with two mismatched chairs in one corner and a single bed and dresser in the other corner. Not much, but as a hide out, it had the basics. My uncle looked in the dresser and all the cupboards and drawers. "You should be ok here for a few days." he finally said.

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Snake and me's gotta get home to check in with our parole officers tonight and that boy isn't in any shape to hike down to the car and won't be for a few days. You will have to stay here with him." he explained.

"Can't we get him out of here? He needs a doctor!" I cried.

"Can't get a vehicle of any kind up that slope, even if there wasn't all the trees. And perched here on this outcrop on the face of the mountain it'd be nearly impossible to do a helicopter rescue. Besides, he's going to be fine, just needs a few days rest. I'll come back for you on Wednesday, around noon, ok? Then we can help him down to the truck." my uncle said. "I really don't want to have to explain the body to any authorities."

"There's food?" I asked.

"Yup, even saw a couple canned hams in there. Lots of canned and dried goods and bottled water, you'll be fine." he assured me. "It'll be dark soon. I'll light this kerosene lantern for you." He lit the lantern and then he and Snake lifted Freddie into the bed. I took out my phone and made a short video and handed it over to my uncle and then they left me alone with a hurt Freddie.

So, now what do I do? I've never taken care of a sick person before! For a few moments I just watched Freddie sleep. He really was a handsome guy. My fingers itched to straighten out his mussed up hair and then muss it all up again. My stomach growled. It was past 8 pm and I hadn't had dinner yet. How long has it been since Freddie ate? I rummaged around in the cupboards and found some canned soup that would do for tonight. I glanced around for the microwave, oh yeah, no electricity. I groaned. I'd have to go out quick before it got too dark and get some wood to cook with, thank heavens for the propane heater so I wouldn't have to get enough wood for heating the cabin too. There was a fair supply of sticks right near the cabin so that it didn't take me long to get what I thought was more than enough wood to heat up the soup. A stack of old newspapers near the stove helped me get the wood started on fire. Before long I had a small pot of warm soup on the stove. I was pretty proud of myself. I ate about half the soup and brought a bowl of soup and a spoon to Freddie. I shook him gently and called out his name to wake him. He slowly woke up and opened his one good eye and looked around. "Where is the Hammer?" he asked.

"Gone for good." was all I would say. "How are you feeling? I brought you some soup, you need to eat."

"I feel like I got run over by a truck... again. I'm not hungry." he mumbled.

"Freddie, we have to hike out of here in 3 days so you need to eat to keep up your strength and get better. Even if you're not hungry, please, eat." I begged.

"M'kay." he said and tried to sit up. I put the bowl down and helped him sit up and get propped up against the pillows and headboard. He seemed too tired to eat. I finally decided to spoon feed him. I grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it up to the bed to feed him. At first it felt silly, he's not a baby needing to be spoon fed. But right now he's as weak as a baby and after a few spoonfuls it felt nice to be able to feed him and help him get stronger. He only ate about half of his soup before he just couldn't stay awake any longer so I helped him lay back down and I finished off the rest of his soup. Ok, food... check. Shelter... check. Heat... I turned to the propane furnace. We'd be needing that, the nights were getting pretty chilly now and this shack of a cabin didn't have any insulation. I took the front cover off the furnace and, thankfully, the back of the cover had instructions for lighting it. I read them over, got the matches from the stove and tried to light it. It just would not light. I re-read the instructions and found the gas gauge on the furnace. Empty. Oh, chiz! The only heat we'd have would be the wood stove. I took the lantern and went outside to get some more wood but with only one hand free and not wanting to go very far from the cabin there wasn't much I could gather. It would have to do for tonight. I brought it back into the cabin and went ahead and put all of it in the stove. I checked on Freddie. It was his left eye that was blackened so when he was sleeping with his head turned to the left and the blanket up, covering his other injuries, he looked like he was just peacefully sleeping. I've never seen him asleep before, he's really cute with his face all relaxed in sleep. So, now what do I do?

I remembered there was a book in one of the dresser drawers. An old western novel, ick. Oh well, it was all I had, I settled in the chair next to the bed to read for a while.

It didn't take long to burn up all the wood I had gathered. The cabin wasn't cold but it was still quite chilly. I piled all but one thick blanket on Freddie and wrapped the one extra around me and laid down on the rug by the bed. It wasn't very comfortable and it took me a long time to fall asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up because Freddie was moving around and moaning. "Freddie, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"C-c-cold! And I have to go to the bathroom." he said.

Oh no, the outhouse, that I'd used earlier when out getting wood, was too far away for him to walk to in this condition and now it was the middle of the night and pitch dark. Think! Think! I got it! "Do you just have to pee?" I asked.

"Yeah, real bad." he replied.

I got an old jar for him to use and handed it to him. He looked at me like I had two heads. "It's the middle of the night and you're too weak to walk out to the outhouse." He looked embarrassed. I slowly closed my eyes and turned around and waited.

"This is so embarrassing! Ok, I'm done." he said. And I took the jar from him and put it outside the door. I might be completely unaffected by the dark when walking around Seattle at night but this was the woods! I could empty the jar in the morning. I went back to the bed and Freddie was looking more comfortable but shivering with cold.

"There's no way to heat this place. Should I get in bed with you? We could huddle together for warmth." I ventured. Please say yes. I was still worried about what he would finally say about me kissing him at the lock-in but if he was willing to huddle with me, for warmth of course, then he didn't totally hate me.

"That would be nice." he said. I put the blanket I'd had on top of all of his blankets and got into bed with him. I snuggled up close and after a while I felt quite a bit warmer so I imagine he did too. It had been a long exhausting day after a night of almost no sleep so finally I fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Monday

Carly was up making herself some breakfast after laying in bed worrying most of the night. Now not only was Freddie missing and thought to be in the clutches of the Shadow Hammer but Sam had disappeared too. Where did she go? Is she doing something stupid or dangerous? She heard a knock on her door and hurried over hoping against hope that it was Sam. Sam never knocked but it was rather early, maybe she was being polite in case someone was undressed and in the living room? She opened the door and no one was there. Then she noticed the pear phone on the floor outside the door. She picked it up and discovered it was Sam's phone! Now she was really freaking out. Sam wouldn't go anywhere without her cell phone! She looked up and down the hall to see who left the phone there and had knocked but no one was around to be seen. There was a new video message in the phones inbox and it was from Sam to Sam. Weird. So Carly decided to watch it. Sam's face came on the screen – she was ok when she made the video!

"Hi Carls, sorry to run out on you and make you worry. Don't worry, I am fine and look," the scene panned over to a sleeping Freddie and then back to Sam "I found Freddie! The Shadow Hammer is gone but he beat Freddie up with his hammer. We're safe and sound and have everything we need to get by for a few days. Freddie needs time to recover before we come back home. I can't say where we are but we are just fine. We should be home Wednesday evening but don't worry until we're not back by Thursday night, ok? I promise to take good care of Freddie. Tell his mom he's been rescued and will be just fine and will be home in a few days. Please don't worry about us!" and then the screen went blank. Carly was stunned, Sam had done it? She'd rescued Freddie? She watched the video again and then went and woke up Spencer and showed him. He was so happy he leapt out of bed and danced a little jig. The two of them went and showed the message to Mrs. Benson. She cried and Carly wasn't sure it if was tears of joy that he was rescued and would be ok or if they were tears of sadness that he'd been hurt. Maybe it was both.

I woke up early when some chizzy birds started chirping up a storm outside our little cabin. I was snuggled up to Freddie. My left shoulder was up in his right armpit and I was using his shoulder as my pillow with my right arm across his torso. I just laid there for a few minutes relishing the feeling of being this close to him. I was also not looking forward to getting out from under the covers. The little cabin was really cold now but under the covers with Freddie, I was toasty warm. Finally I slid out from under the covers very carefully, trying to keep as much heat in the bed for Freddie and not wake him. It would be good for him to sleep as much as possible. Brrrr. First thing was either heat or breakfast and both required the same thing – more wood. I went out to gather wood, lots of wood. Now that I knew it was going to be our heat I needed as much as I could get. First I took the jar to the outhouse and dumped it and used the outhouse while I was there. Then I gathered up a big armful and went back to the cabin and dumped it and the jar by the door and went back to gather more. By about the fifth trip back to the cabin the still morning was suddenly shattered by my name being screamed out. It was Freddie screaming my name! Had one of the Hammers buddies come to the cabin? I didn't have any weapon other than my fighting skills but I dropped the wood and ran flat-out to the cabin and burst through the door. The cabin was the same as I had left it, no one was there slicing Freddie to bits or clubbing him to death with a hammer – two scenarios that had flitted through my mind as I had run to the cabin. Freddie was sitting up in bed and his head whipped around when I broke through the door, he looked terrified. "Are you ok? What happened? Did you see someone outside? Why did you scream?" I asked in a rush as I made my way over to the bed to check on him.

"Where were you?" he asked. "I woke up and you were gone. I was afraid the Hammer had come back and gotten you!"

Oh, he's ok, he was just scared when I wasn't there when he woke up. My heart rate starting coming back down towards something more like a normal beat and not a machine-gun-fire pace. I sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd wake up. I was just out getting some wood to warm this place up. The Hammer isn't going to come back. I'm fine." I said as soothingly as I could.

"You're fine? You're sure you're fine?" he asked as he looked me over. "How can you be sure he's not coming back?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. I'm sorry I scared you. And I promise you, I know the Hammer isn't coming back. Now, how about some heat and some breakfast?" I said as cheerfully, trying to lighten his mood. Inside although I was sorry I'd frightened him it was nice to know he cared enough to be that upset at the thought of me in danger. He must like me at least a little bit.

"I'm all for some heat. Breakfast might be good too. What's for breakfast?" he asked.

I rummaged through the cupboards and found some add water only pancake mix and syrup. I was no cook but I could probably manage to make something at least edible out of that. If nothing else, the syrup could cover up some of my mistakes. I got the fire started and mixed up the pancake batter. Freddie was really very nice about the breakfast I had made. Some of the pancakes were a bit doughy inside and others were a bit burnt on the outside but we managed to make a breakfast out of it. While we ate I told Freddie that on Wednesday we'd have to hike down to my uncles truck and he'd give us a ride home. After breakfast I kept feeding more and more wood into the oven and the room started to warm up some, finally. I helped Freddie sit up on the edge of the bed and then I turned around while he used the jar again. After putting the jar outside I put a big pot of water on the stove to heat. Freddie motioned toward the pot "Dishwashing water?" he asked.

"No, Freddie washing water." I said.

"Oh" was all he said.

"You don't want to get cleaned up and get the blood and grime off your wounds?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do. But I'm so sore everywhere and it's going to hurt." he replied.

"I know. But I promise to be as gentle as possible. We have to clean up all those cuts and scrapes before they get infected." I said.

"You're going to be gentle? YOU are going to wash me?" he exclaimed.

"Like you said, you are hurting all over and bending and twisting to try and wash yourself will be even more painful than if I do it." I explained.

"Uh, ok." he said. Was having me wash him that awful? Maybe he doesn't like me at all. He was reacting like I'd said I was going to scrub him with sandpaper.

I waited until the water was quite warm but not really hot. I didn't want to burn him but the room was still chilly and the water would cool down some while I bathed him and I didn't want him to get too cold. I took the pot, two towels and a bar of soap over to the bedside. I turned back the covers to uncover just one side and arm. I started to wash his shoulder and when I got down his arm to where the bruises and cuts started he winced. "Am I hurting you?" I asked.

"Just a little, it's ok, keep going." he said.

Using the smaller of the two towels I gently rubbed all over his arm in small circles, wiping away dirt and blood. I tried to rub even lighter over the wounds but still get them clean. Most of them were raised up from swelling and bruising underneath, the Hammer had really hit him with a lot of force. Hit him like that over and over again. The thought of it made me feel sick.

"Sam? Are you ok?" he asked. My eyes had teared up thinking about what he had been through. I looked down and tried to hide my eyes. Freddie reached out and wiped a tear from my cheek. "Why are you crying?" he asked.

The past two days had just been too much on my system to be able to think up a quick lie so I took a chance and went with the truth. "I just can't stand to think of what he did to you! What you must have gone through!" I ranted.

"Thanks for caring, I care about you too. And, yeah, I'm having some trouble dealing with it all myself. It's ok though. It's over. I'll recover... thanks to you." he said with a wink.

I went back to concentrating on being gentle but thorough with washing his wounds and applying some antiseptic cream from the first aid kit. When I was done with his right side I moved the bed away from the wall to get to his left side. It went ok with his arm, sore but ok. It was when I tried to wash his left side that he couldn't help but cry out in pain in one particular area. I decided my uncle was right and that was where he had some broken ribs. I washed the area more by dripping water over it again and again than any rubbing. Maybe there was some tape in the first aid kit. I knew from watching tv that the only thing to do for broken ribs is to put a wide band of tape all around the persons body in the area of the broken ribs. It might help. I covered up his left arm and side and uncovered his left leg. I started at his toes. Well, that was a good sound to hear. Freddie's toes are ticklish and he laughed, then yelped in pain from laughing. "Oops, sorry." I said. I quickly scrubbed his foot, hard. I figured if I scrubbed hard everywhere but the wound on the top of his foot it might not tickle as much. Hmmm his leg hair certainly had come in. I worked my way up. Oh, I was getting close to some sensitive areas. I stopped about halfway up his thigh and covered up his leg and went back around to the other side of the bed to do his right leg. He was just laying quietly in bed with his eyes closed. "Are you still doing ok? Do you need me to take a break?" I asked.

His eyes popped open. "No, it's ok, you might as well finish." he said with a voice that didn't sound quite right. I quickly scrubbed his foot and then gently and slowly washed little circles up his leg. Soap up several inches, rinse the same area and dry and then soap a few more inches worth of leg and rinse and dry. Over and over, up his leg, getting him clean but trying not to let him get cold. It was when I was drying off the last few inches of his lower thigh that I noticed something. His boxers were, um, sort of, uh, tenting. I quickly looked up into his eyes. Freddie blushed and looked away. I hurriedly put the covers back over his leg and took the pot of dirty soapy water to the kitchen. Whoa! I'd excited him that much by washing his legs? I was pleased that I could cause that sort of reaction in him but it was also very new and scary territory for me. I dumped the dirty water and set some clean on the stove to warm just a bit so my hands wouldn't freeze washing up from breakfast. "After I do the dishes I'm going out to get more wood. You should probably nap some but don't worry if you wake up and I'm not here. I'm just going out to get more wood." I stole a glance at him and he nodded that he'd heard me. By the time I had the dishes done Freddie was snoring softly. I put on two large pots of water to warm. We were only going to be here two more days and there was about two dozen huge water jugs, maybe five gallons each. No sense in rationing it. I put a jar of spaghetti sauce in a saucepan and put it on the stove. I put all the pots off to the side so they wouldn't get too hot while I got more wood. I was feeling rather domestic and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was a good feeling taking care of Freddie. I was just so relieved he was alive and on the mend and not still in the clutches of the Hammer. As far as I was concerned, the Hammer got what he deserved except it shouldn't have been so quick for him! I went out and roamed up and down the slope and around the sides of the mountain gathering a large pile of firewood. Probably not enough to get us to Wednesday but enough for now.

I quietly opened the cabin door and it still startled Freddie until he saw it was me and not the Hammer. I wish I could tell him the scum was dead but I didn't want Freddie involved in it. Some day the Hammers body would be discovered and the cabin would be found. It would look like he'd just fallen off the ledge on his way to the outhouse in the dark or when he was drunk. I'd have to be sure we left no sign of us having been in the cabin, it would look like the Hammer had eaten what food we ate. "Hi, honey, I'm home from work!" I called out with a laugh and dumped a load of wood by the oven.

Freddie looked at my messy hair and the scratches on my arms from branches and a tear on one shoulder of my shirt from a particularly stubborn branch and, with a grin, said "Hard day at the office, dear?"

I laughed and told him to shut up and that made him laugh and wince. It felt good to be laughing. His wincing made me remember the first aid kit. "Hey, let's tape up those ribs, it should help."

I got the tape out and helped him sit up on the edge of the bed again and did what I could with the amount of tape I had. "There, does that feel better?" I asked.

Freddie tried to take a deep breath. "I think mostly it keeps me from breathing deeply so that helps. Um, Sam, I... uh..." he stopped.

"Come on, what is it? Is something hurting more? Are you bleeding inside? Are you seeing double or something? What is it?" I asked, being a little pushy but I was worried.

"No, it's nothing like that. How far is the outhouse?" he wanted to know.

"It's about 80 feet around that way" I said pointing off towards the outhouse. "Why?"

"I need to go to the outhouse." he replied.

"You can't use the jar again?" I asked.

"Uh, no. It's got to be the outhouse." he said.

Ahhh, I finally understood. "Ok, here, lean on me. Wait a minute." First I dumped the spaghetti in the hot water, then I gave him some too big clothes from the dresser and helped him get into them and then I grabbed the chair from beside the bed and went outside. I came back without the chair and Freddie looked at me confused. "I put it just around the side of the cabin for you to take a rest on."

"Smart idea. I'm not exactly up to running a marathon, am I?" he joked.

"All right, Hercules, lean on me and let's see if you can get as far as the chair." I supported him from the right side, away from his broken ribs and he did manage to get as far as the chair. Then I had to support him and carry the chair for another rest before we made it to the outhouse.

"Ok, I'm here. Can you go gather some more wood or run down to the local 7 Eleven for a soda or something?" he asked, a bit embarrassed.

Ok, I get it, a need for privacy. "Do you want me to grab you some fat cakes while I'm there?" I said with a smirk and headed off for a couple loads of firewood. I swear, I will never take a furnace for granted again! I left him in the outhouse for a good 15 minutes. I didn't want to hurry him. I also didn't want to interrupt him. So many ways to cause uncomfortable feelings with this little trip out of the cabin! Plus he needed a good rest before heading back to the cabin. He was ready when I came back. He was just sitting on a large rock just outside the outhouse watching the colorful leaves flutter in the breeze.

"It's really very pretty. Everything is more beautiful and vibrant than it used to be." he said with awe. I helped him back to the cabin and he wanted to sit at the table. The spaghetti noodles were done and the sauce was making the cabin smell wonderful. I wish we had something to drink besides water. Peppy Cola would really hit the spot. Even milk would be better than water. There was powdered milk but that was gross for drinking. After lunch when I went to help Freddie get up and back to bed he finally asked the question I'd been dreading. I had just helped him stand and our faces were inches apart when he asked "Why did you kiss me at the lock-in?" Such a simple question to open a whole big can of confused feelings.

It was just the two of us here with no distractions. If I ever wanted a shot with him I'd better screw up my courage and be honest and do it right now. "I... I like you." I stammered.

"I like you too." he said as he leaned in to softly capture my lips with his. I had fireworks and large clanging bells going off in my head and lightening shooting from my lips to the rest of my body, right down to my toes. But all that was just background feelings compared to the intensity of what I was feeling from our lips brushing together ever so lightly. I have never felt anything so wonderful in my life. All too soon he broke off the kiss and leaned his head back slightly.

I stared up at him. "Do you really mean that?"

"Mm hmm" he murmured softly. I was too stunned to know what to say. I helped him back to bed and busied myself cleaning up from lunch.

I was nearly done when he spoke again. "Are we going to talk about this?"

I really didn't want to. He had said he likes me but how much? I liked him more, of that I was sure, I had gone and fallen in love with him. What if he just wanted to be buddies and fool around with some no strings attached kissing? After all I've done to him over the years he couldn't possibly love me back, I knew that much. "Do we have to?"

"Yeah, I think we need to. It's important. You told me why you kissed me but why did you run off afterwards?" he asked.

"You just stood there like a lump! You didn't kiss me back, didn't hold me, didn't say much. You just stood there with your mouth open!" I said.

"I was in shock! Sam, the gorgeous girl that hates me and tortures me was kissing me! By the time I could think straight again you were already gone. I spent the rest of that night mentally kicking myself for not wrapping my arms around you and kissing your socks off when I had the chance!" he exclaimed.

He had wanted to 'kiss my socks off'? I liked the sound of that. But that was just physical – holding me and kissing me. He was a teenage boy with hormones, they'd hold and kiss just about any girl who would let them. How did he feel? I went over to sit on the side of the bed. "So, if I'd have stayed a little longer you'd have kissed me back?" I asked.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Like this." and he leaned up to lightly brush his lips against mine. Then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down as he leaned back against the propped up pillows and started to kiss me with some passion. He angled his head to deepen the kiss and my whole brain started to go fuzzy and I completely relaxed and sank into his kiss. Eventually we both needed air and broke off the best kiss I'd ever had. "Wow" he said.

"I agree, wow." I replied. I think he did just about kiss my socks off! But he still hasn't said much about how he feels about me, just that he likes me. Likes me like a friend? Like a potential girlfriend? Like someone he could maybe fall in love with? This was torture, I already knew I loved him. I needed to get some space. I put more wood in the oven and set a couple pots of water on to heat and went out to get more wood. We had a pretty good pile of wood still left but it was more that I needed to get away and clear my head. I stayed out gathering wood as long as I dared to leave him alone. And finally, I went back into the cabin.

"Ready to wash your hair?" I asked him as I walked back in the cabin.

"Oh there you are, I was getting worried. Wash my hair? Yeah, it feels really icky. I bet it looks worse." he said with a smile at me, I didn't respond. "I think I could lean over the sink and wash my hair pretty well."

"That won't hurt your ribs too much?" I asked.

"No more than any other way I can think of for us to wash my hair. How about you? Don't you want to wash up too?" he asked me.

"Yeah, that's why there's two pots of warm water. After we do your hair I'll wash up too. But not my hair, it's too cold to have my long hair wet in here." I replied. Freddie stooped over the sink as best he could but he needed to hold on to the edge of the sink to maintain that position so I had to wash his hair for him. I've had daydreams about running my fingers through his hair but this was not how I had imagined it. I worked as quickly as I could so he wouldn't have to bend over too long. He towel dried his hair and made his way back to the bed. He sat on the edge breathing hard for a few minutes. He's come a long way in just one day but would he be ready to hike out in just two more days? We were going to have to help him a lot the whole way. At least the steep grade we had to hike was downhill this time, that would make it easier. I keep thinking maybe one of us could carry him piggy back but the pain that would cause him from his broken ribs alone made it impossible. He's going to have to walk to the truck on his own two feet. He got back into bed and I told him to roll over and face the wall with his eyes closed until I said so. He turned his face to the wall but couldn't roll up onto his left side because of his ribs. I gave myself a quick sink bath and felt a lot better. I redressed without my undies and washed them as best I could and hung them on the oven to dry where Freddie couldn't see them. I didn't have to worry about him peeking. He was a gentleman but more than that, he'd fallen asleep.

I had been wondering about what to make for dinner. I was willing to try something a little harder than add water and heat. First I made some of the powdered milk into milk to let it sit for awhile. Then I opened one of the canned hams and put it in the cooking oven part of the big oven. I don't know what the temperature was in there but since the meat only needed to be heated I figured it would be ok. My undies were dry and I quickly put them back on. That felt a lot better! I used the milk I had made to cook up some flake mashed potatoes and opened a can of gravy to put on it. Ok it was turkey gravy and we were having ham but it was the best I could do! I opened a can of peas and carrots too. Voila! A dinner fit for... well... a couple of teens in a jam. I was dishing up the food onto a couple of plates when I heard Freddie saying "Something smells wonderful!"

"Sure, you sleep through the cooking and wake up just in time for the eating. Just like a man!" I teased.

"Hey! I've been working HARD all day! It isn't easy patching up a body this beat up you know!" he teased right back with a grin. Then he got out of bed and came to the oven to get his own plate and carry it to the table. Hey, he is getting better. We had a nice dinner and I cleaned up, again. I never do dishes at home and I swear once I leave here I never will again, they never seem to end! Freddie stayed at the table after dinner and we played some cards.

"I bet my mom is tearing up Seattle looking for me." he said thoughtfully.

"Oops! Sorry! I forgot to tell you. I sent word back to Carly and your mom that we were ok and would be home on Wednesday. Although, she still might be tearing up the whole city looking for you so she could be the one to baby you while you recover." I said.

He groaned. "Once I do get back she's going to be all over me like green on grass. I won't be able to leave her sight for weeks!" He looked over at me slyly and said, "We're going to have to make the best use of our time together here before we go back." He reached across the corner of the table to hold my hand and bring it to his lips for a light kiss. My heart skipped a couple of beats. "Come on, let's go to bed." he said.

"You don't mean...!" I said in shock.

Freddie cupped my cheek in his palm and brushed his thumb over my lips softly. "No, I don't mean that. We're not ready for that and I'm not well enough. I just meant it's time to get into bed and we can hold each other while we sleep. Doesn't that sound good to you? It sounds heavenly to me."

I turned to kiss his palm and then said "Yes, that sounds wonderful to me." I let him get in bed first and he gingerly turned to lay on his right side and motioned for me to lay down and spoon with him. He laid his arm out straight for me to use as a pillow and brought his left arm very carefully around my waist. I snuggled in close and then tried not to move. I was afraid of hurting him, bumping into his broken ribs or something like that.

"Good night, sweet Sam." he said and then I felt him kiss my hair before he laid his head on the pillow.


	3. Tuesday

The next morning when I woke up for just a moment I thought I was at home. Then I remembered where I was and sat up with a start because I was in bed alone. Where was Freddie! I blinked my eyes and looked around to see Freddie in the kitchen area and then I smelled the food. I had slept pretty late and he was up making breakfast. "Hey, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, remember?"

"What, I can't return the favor?" he asked? "You were sleeping so soundly, I just couldn't wake you up. I thought I'd make my hero some breakfast in bed. We have oatmeal and you have your choice of plain, with white sugar or with honey, sorry, no brown sugar to be found."

"No chocolate chips?" I asked, starting to get out of bed.

"No, no, no, I'm making you breakfast in bed so you have to stay in bed." he insisted. "Chocolate chips? In oatmeal?"

"Yum! You should try it sometime." I told him.

"Ok, maybe later because I didn't see any chocolate chips around here. But I did use the rest of the milk you mixed up to make something resembling biscuits. They are currently in the oven. I just hope the insides are done before the outsides are burnt, it seems really hot in there. How did people live like this!" he exclaimed.

"Practice, I'm sure." If he wanted to serve me breakfast in bed I decided to let him and made myself comfortable propped up with pillows. "So, lowly servant of mine, I don't suppose you've bothered to grow, harvest and squeeze some fresh orange juice for me today?"

"Sorry, Princess Puckett, I have failed you. You will have to make do with water." he tried to say very seriously but his grin gave him away.

"Off with your head!" I shouted and we both laughed.

Freddie went all out with breakfast. He insisted on feeding me. It was weird and uncomfortably familiar but after several bites I started to like it. I could get used to being pampered like this very easily and he seemed to be enjoying himself too. He took bites of his own breakfast between feeding me bites of mine. When it was all gone he said "Has my hero had enough or shall I make more?"

I was uncomfortable with him calling me his hero. Really, it was my uncle that was the hero but I couldn't tell him that. "I'm fine, you goof! Now let me get up!" I said as I carefully pushed him off the bed. I got up and gathered the dishes into the sink and put some water on to heat. I also added more wood to the stove to heat up the room more. There was an icy edge to the chill this morning.

"Sam, I should be cleaning up, not you." Freddie said from his perch on the edge of the bed. But he didn't make a move to get up and he looked quite tired.

"How about you go back to bed and get out of my hair?" I said with a royal air of superiority. "Princess Puckett needs time to wash the royal china!" Freddie gave a snort and then got into bed. Before I was done with the dishes he was already asleep again. He was improving rapidly but still needed lots of rest. He might just be ready to go home tomorrow. But was I ready? Part of me wanted to flee right now and avoid any of the discomforts that might come from serious relationship talking with Freddie. But that was what needed to happen if we were going to get together. Why does it have to be so hard and complicated? Why can't we just be born with a symbol or picture or something on our foreheads and when we find the person with a matching symbol we know we've found 'the one' for us? That would be so easy! Then there was also a part of me that didn't want to leave tomorrow, or maybe ever. If it was just the two of us alone together we might be able to work things out but back home with all the other distractions of life? It would be a daily minefield of obligations and distractions to maneuver through while we tried to learn to be together, if that's even what he wants. What if Freddie isn't serious about me? What if he is just enjoying some innocent flirting and kissing? What then? Could I watch him go out on dates with other girls, get serious about someone else? And what about all this hero talk? Was Freddie seeing me in a different light because I helped to rescue him? Was I his foreign bacon? Why did life have to be so darn complicated? My brain was melting with all this thinking and I was getting a headache! I carefully put a couple smaller sticks of wood on the bed next to Freddie as a message that I was out getting more wood should he wake up while I was gone. It took me awhile but I think I finally gathered enough wood to keep us from freezing until tomorrow afternoon. Not enough to keep us nice and toasty by any means but enough to get us through.

Freddie was still sleeping when I got back. I got out the just add water banana muffin mix and made those to have with lunch. Banana muffins and stew didn't sound like they went together too well but there wasn't a large selection of foods to choose from here. I'd kill for a fat cake right now, or a Peppy Cola. As the stew was warming I went over and quietly sat on the edge of the bed to watch Freddie sleep. I gave in to the urge to fix his tousled hair. It was so soft and thick and I just wanted to run my fingers all through his hair. And with his eyes closed I could see his lush lashes against his cheeks. And his soft lips all relaxed with sleep looked so kissable. And I already knew they were very kissable. I was staring at him so hard for a moment I didn't realize he was smiling just a little. Then his eyes opened and he asked me "Have you had a long enough look?" Oh! He caught me staring! I started to get up from the bed but he grabbed my wrist to stop me. "It's ok, I don't mind. I watched you sleep for a while this morning too. Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Oh no! What embarrassing things had I said while I was asleep? I was mortified! "Wh-what did I say?" I asked cringing, not wanting to know the answer.

"Oh, nothing I could make out. Just mumbling really." he replied. "It made me wonder what you were dreaming about. What do you dream about, Sam?"

"Bacon" I replied quickly. I had had some really girly sweet dreams with him in them and some pretty hot ones too but I wasn't going to confess about those dreams!

Freddie got out of bed and got dressed in those too-big clothes again and came back to sit on the bed with me. "I had a dream last night. A really great one." he said in a way that I knew he wanted me to ask about it.

"What dream?" I whispered.

"It went something like this" he said as he took my hand to pull me up and then wrapped his arms around me and leaned in to kiss me. He had just barely brushed his lips against mine when his lips started to wander along my jawline up to my ear and then back down to kiss my lips, deeply. I snaked my hands up his chest and around his head to run my fingers through the hair on the back of his head. Heaven, sheer heaven. We stood there just holding and kissing each other for several minutes. When he broke off the kiss he leaned his forehead against mine. "Pretty good dream, huh? Even better in real life."

"Yeah," I tried to say lightheartedly "good dream." Was last night the first time he'd ever had dreams like that about me? I'd been dreaming about him for some time now. I was still worried it was the whole hero worship thing and it would come crashing down around me and break my heart. I stepped out of his arms and proceeded to get lunch for us. This time Freddie had enough energy to do the cleaning up and then we played some cards and just talked. We talked about iCarly and threw around some ideas. I told him about Lewbert only being mad about the blood he got on the floor and not worried about him being abducted at all. He agreed we needed to do some wicked Messin' With Lewbert segments as soon as possible. We toyed with some ideas for that. We traded gossip from school, who was dating who and who was in trouble for doing what, that kind of stuff. Just everyday talk. It felt quite normal. We talked about the limited food supply here and what we could possibly come up with for dinner. His biscuits from that morning hadn't been too bad. I suggested he make some more and we could have them with some canned chili. We'd have to mix up some more powdered milk to make the biscuits so we could see how good it was when we made pudding with it for a dessert. It was the warmest part of the day and I really wanted to shampoo my hair so while Freddie napped before dinner I loaded up the stove with wood to heat the room. And then heated some water and washed my hair in the sink. There was only a comb to try and comb it out with, no hairbrush around. I did the best I could. Once Freddie woke up he tried to make the biscuits again. They came out even better and were quite good with the chili. The pudding tasted a little weird made with powdered milk but not too bad.

Freddie got up from the table and took his chair over to the bed. He sat down on the bed with the chair in front of him, facing away from him. "How about you bring me the comb and I can comb out your hair for you?" he suggested. I did as he asked and sat in the chair after getting him the comb. He was very careful not to pull on my hair while he worked out the snarls. I have always loved to have someone else comb my hair, it's like a massage for your head, it just feels so good. Even after the knots were all out and he could freely comb from scalp to the ends of my hair he kept combing it out. We must have been sitting there for a half an hour like that, maybe longer. Then he had to go and ruin it by saying, "After all, this is the least I can do for my hero." Oh, is that why he did it? It was just pay back? I took the comb from him and went to do the dishes, again. This time I was glad to have a reason to face the sink and not look in his direction. That way he couldn't see the extra moisture in my eyes. I didn't want him to be paying amorous attention to me because he felt he owed me! I wanted him to want to be with me, want to run his fingers through my hair and kiss me because it was me and not because of what I'd done for him! My fears seemed to be true, it was the foreign bacon thing all over again. And it hurt, a lot. I was tough Sam Puckett and I couldn't show him I was hurt. I scrubbed the dishes while I got my emotions under control. Then I excused myself to go to the outhouse and let the chilly wind wash over me to steel my hold on my tears. I could cry all I wanted after we got off this blasted mountain! Strange how you can feel two opposite things at once. I desperately wanted off this mountain and away from here yet I was also dreading tomorrow when we'd have to leave.

I went back to the cabin feeling much more in control. I brought in a load of wood and stoked up the fire. "Hey, you'd better make your evening run to the outhouse, it's starting to get dark." I told Freddie. After he left I got out the surprise I had found while rummaging around. By the time he got back the Jiffy-Pop popcorn was starting to pop.

"Popcorn! Where did you find that little treasure?" he exclaimed when he saw the foil pan with the foil cover starting to rise up with popcorn.

"It was wedged behind a big can of coffee." I said.

"You really are a life saver! That smells heavenly!" he gushed.

Ew, the hero thing again. Suck it up, Puckett, enjoy being with him like this while it lasts. Eventually the hero worship will wear off and we'll be the delinquent and the dork again. The popcorn was gone in about two minutes and it was already quite dark outside. Time for bed. This was the last time I'd get to sleep cuddled up to Freddie. He got in bed and I crawled in and made myself comfortable with his shoulder for a pillow. He brought his right hand up to stroke my hair and play with the curls. I tried to concentrate and remember everything so I wouldn't forget later what this was like. How his hand felt in my hair, how his shoulder felt under my cheek. How I could see his chest rise and fall and feel his breath. How my arm felt laying across his bare torso. How the blankets felt when they moved as he shifted in bed. I'd never slept cuddled up to someone before, this was a first for me, and it felt right with Freddie. I concentrated on each sense in turn to catalog the whole experience. The sight of his chest and the blankets. The smell of pure Freddie, no lotions or anything to dilute his personal scent. The scent of pines from the forest and the lingering scent of our shared popcorn in the room. I remembered the taste of his kisses. I closed my eyes and listened to his heart beat and his breathing and then listened out further and could hear the crackle of the fire and an owl in the distance. And the heavenly feel of my body pressed up against his from shoulder to feet, our feet playing a bit of footsie now and then. Eventually, we fell asleep.


	4. Wednesday

I woke up early on Wednesday morning. It was a foggy morning. It felt like Freddie and I were the only people left on earth. The idea was frightening and, in a way, nice at the same time. I was dreading going home and I was really dreading having to sleep alone in my own bed in my crappy house with my obnoxious mom. I slipped out of bed and put on my boots and coat. It was cold in the cabin. I lit the fire and loaded it up with wood as quietly as I could. Then I just sat and watched Freddie sleep for a while. This time I was careful to keep tabs on his shallow breathing so I knew he was still asleep. His eye wasn't swollen at all anymore and the deep purple had faded some, the edges of his bruise were starting to turn yellowish green. I stared at him hard, somehow trying to read his mind. Did he really care for me like I wanted him to? Did he just want a make-out partner? Was it the foreign bacon thing again? I needed to know these things before we got back to regular life! It really seemed to me it was the hero worship/foreign bacon thing. I mean, he never asked me out or tried to flirt with me or indicate in any way that his feelings for me were growing or that he was attracted to me in any way. At least he didn't do any of that until after I rescued him from the Shadow Hammer. So it had to be that, didn't it? I wanted to cry. Just about then Freddie shifted in his sleep and his breathing changed. I quickly got up and went over to the kitchen area to start making breakfast for our last morning here in what I was now thing of as 'our' cabin. There was enough syrup left for pancakes again so I started to mix up the batter for those.

I had my back to the bed but I could still hear when Freddie got out of bed and started to get dressed. Please go out to the outhouse right away! Please do not come over here! I am not ready to face you yet. I was still thisclose to crying about being nothing but bacon. Never one to do what I want him to do, Freddie came to stand right behind me. "Mmmm pancakes sound good, want some help with that?" he asked.

A quick "No" was all I could manage. So, now that I said no, please go away!

"Sam?" he asked "are you all right?"

"I'm fine, now go away." I spit out.

"You don't sound fine. Please tell me what is wrong." he pleaded, sounding worried. I didn't answer. I closed my eyes tight against the threatening tears and bit my lip, hard, to hold back my emotions. By now I was holding on to the edge of the metal sink so hard I thought I must be denting it. Pleeeeeease, go away! I begged silently.

After what seemed like forever but was probably more like a minute or two, I felt his hand on my shoulder, urging me to turn around. I stood my ground. "Sam, what is wrong!" he asked as he took both my shoulders and turned me to face him.

I couldn't help it. One traitorous tear slipped out of my eye and trickled it's way down my cheek. I felt him brush it away. "Sam, please, tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm bacon!" I wailed.

He had the nerve to chuckle and tried to put his arms around me and pull me in for a hug. "You can have bacon later today." he said.

I shoved hard away from him. "I didn't say I wanted bacon! I said I AM bacon! Foreign stinking bacon!" I yelled as I turned around to face the sink again.

For a moment he didn't say or do anything. My outburst was a bit peculiar, he probably was thinking. Then he must have understood my meaning. I felt his arms around my sides, curving around my stomach to hug me from behind and I heard his voice right in my ear and felt his chin on my shoulder. "Can I tell you about my favorite daydream?" That was an odd question to be asking right now but since I had no options for escape from this situation I just stood there like a statue and he continued. "My favorite daydream is for you and me to be driving in the woods, just the two of us. I can never figure out a good reason for just you and me to be driving out in the woods alone but, hey, it's a daydream. It doesn't have to make sense. Any way, it is the proverbial dark and stormy night and our car breaks down. Because of the flashes of lightening we can see a small cabin not to far away and we make a run for it and break in. It's not much of a cabin but it has food and water and a bed and it keeps the rain off our heads. This, of course, is a huge storm that lasts for days. You and I stuck together, just the two of us, in a little cabin where we have time to break down our walls and admit how we feel about each other. In my daydreams there is always a lot of snuggling under the covers for warmth and lots of kissing and... well, sometimes even more than that."

I finally turned around. "And exactly why are you telling me this ridiculous story? It's not a daydream, it's the reality of the past few days!" I retorted.

"Well, of course sometimes we get stranded on a deserted island. It's got this fresh water spring, we have to have water to drink, and it bubbles down into this beautiful pool for us to swim in before it cascades down to the ocean. We have to build our own shelter and make nets for fishing. Our own little paradise that we don't want to be rescued from."

"What are you babbling about! You've been having these weird daydreams all weekend?" I asked with distain.

He took my hands in his and looked deep into my eyes. "No, Sam. You aren't listening. I'm saying you are not foreign bacon." Ok, I admit it, that got my full attention. "I've been having these daydreams about you and me for a few years now. And while I am extremely grateful for you rescuing me, it hasn't changed my feelings towards you at all."

"You like me?" I asked hesitantly.

"I more than 'like' you!" he blurted out.

"But you never showed any signs of liking me before this weekend! You never asked me out or tried to hold my hand, brush my hair out of my eyes or kiss me or anything!" I was challenging him, if he more than liked me how come he hadn't shown it?

"Be truthful. If say, 3 months ago, I had asked you for a date what would you have said?" he asked.

"Truthful, huh?" I said with a cringe.

"Totally truthful." he replied.

"Ok, if you had asked me for a date I probably would have laughed at you and made fun of you." I admitted.

"And if I had tried to hold your hand or kiss you?" he added.

"Yeah, I probably would have at least smacked you upside the head." I admitted with a groan. I'd been sabotaging myself all this time while trying to hide my feelings for him. What a dope!

"So, you see, daydreams were all I had. When mom would drag me to a poetry reading or boring seminar, I would sit quietly pretending to pay attention and then I'd daydream about the girl I wished was my girlfriend. It's odd how things turn out. I have had daydreams about me rescuing you, the dashing hero rescuing the damsel in distress," he said with a smile "but I never dreamed it would be you rescuing me to set us up in our own little world where we could break down our walls and admit our feelings."

He was being very honest and putting his feelings out there on the line. It was all still new and scary but I was growing hopeful that this could all work out. "So, you do want to be my boyfriend?" I asked.

"Most definitely" he replied and leaned in to kiss me. I got tingles all up and down my spine. I wound my hands up around his neck to play with his soft hair. He put his arms around me and pulled me in close. It was a good thing he was holding me up because when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss and ran his tongue along my bottom lip, seeking entrance, my knees turned rubbery. The fog outside seemed to surround us in the cabin. The whole world was gone. The only part of my world that was left was me and Freddie, kissing. That was fine with me, I could stay here forever! Sadly, however, reality intruded into our little world several minutes later when my stomach decided to growl, loudly. Freddie broke off the kiss, laughing. "Me thinks my lady is hungry."

"Always." I replied and we both laughed. We made our breakfast, burning quite a few pancakes because we'd be busy kissing and forget about them. But we did make some worth eating and threw the burned ones outside for the animals.

My uncle was coming around noon so we got busy trying to erase any traces of having been in the cabin. We burned the towels, sheets and blankets that had Freddie's blood on them. I used bleach to scrub the blood off the floor where he had been laying when I found him. We went around and polished anything we might have touched that could have fingerprints on them – the lantern, the knobs on the oven, cupboards, dresser, the table... everything we could think of.

"Did we get everything?" Freddie asked me.

"What am I? An expert?" I teased him.

"More of one than me!" he replied.

"I think we got everything. It's nearly noon so my uncle should be here soon. I'm starting to get hungry for lunch. Maybe we could make lunch for when they get here?" I suggested.

"Sounds good, how about that last canned ham and some canned veggies? It won't dirty a lot of dishes for us to clean up later." he said. And we set the ham in the oven and the veggies on top to warm. I set the table for four since I didn't know if Snake was coming along to help Freddie down to the truck or not.

Lunch was ready and still no sign of my uncle. We might just have to eat it without him. Freddie and I were both standing in the kitchen area when suddenly the door banged open and a large man with a rifle barreled through the door. Freddie who was in front of me and to the side immediately took a large step to one side to be right in front of me. "Don't hurt her!" he yelled at the man.

I felt tears prick my eyes. This time it was happy tears. Freddie didn't know it was my Uncle Carmine with the gun, he just thought I was in danger and he was willing to take a bullet for me. He loved me that much. I took a half step forward to be right behind him. Uncle Carmine gave a great laugh and laid his gun on the counter, turning to go back out the door to call Snake to come in. Freddie was about to make a move to grab the rifle when I wrapped my arms around him and this time I whispered in his ear. "I love you too. And that's my uncle."

I felt his whole body relax with relief. I'm surprised his knees didn't buckle too. Uncle Carmine and Snake came back in. "Hey, smells good in here." my uncle noted.

"Yup, we made lunch for ya!" I told him, gesturing for them to sit at the table. Since there were only two chairs Freddie and I sat on the bed and put our plates in our laps. Uncle Carmine told us how all of Seattle was on the hunt for the Shadow Hammer and Freddie. They'd even shown my little video on the news asking if anyone knew where the video had been recorded so they could find us. We told them how we managed to get along without electricity or running water for 3 days. I told him that even though we'd made lunch for them I absolutely insisted that we stop at the first store that was open to get some fat cakes and Peppy Cola!

"Deal" said Uncle Carmine. "Anything for you, boy?" he asked Freddie.

"Excuse me?" Freddie said.

"Anything in particular you want to get at the store. I'm buying. Any boy who'd stand in the way of a bullet aimed at my Sammi Girl is a keeper in my book!" he said and winked at me.

"Any boyfriend of hers that wouldn't take a bullet for her would be an idiot!" he replied. "Just some Peppy Cola for me, I'm sick of nothing to drink but water!"

After lunch and cleaning up the dishes, dirty dishes for four in a cabin for one would look odd when the cabin was discovered, Snake and my uncle went to check out the outhouse. I knew they weren't 'checking out the outhouse' but using the outhouse and checking out the Hammer's body to make sure he was still there and he was actually dead.

"Ready to hike down the hill?" I asked Freddie. He'd been recovering steadily but it was still going to be tough going for him.

"Will you still want to be my girlfriend when we get back to Seattle? Be seen with me in public? Go out, maybe Friday night, for dinner and a movie, just the two of us?" he asked.

"Most certainly!" I answered and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

He stopped me from backing away from him by grabbing my shoulders. "Then I can hike anywhere you want me to go, as long as we go there together. And, Sam? I love you too." he said softly as he pulled my lips back to his.


End file.
